Dave and Scott cover everything from choosing your ISO, shutter speed, and white balance to the right gear for the job and the best approach for the different styles of shooting you might be interested in pursuing. Whether you are out there for the school’s sports information department, a magazine, a wire service, or a trading card company, you’ll learn all the tips and techniques the pros use to capture jaw dropping action shots as well as the peak moments that go on to define a sporting event for generations to come.

As a freelance photographer for over 30 years Dave's work has primarily centered on the sports industry for such publications as Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and the award winning TV show Sports Century on ESPN. The list of event coverage includes the Masters, Kentucky Derby, National Football League, NASCAR and extensive work regar...

61 comments

Can you please have a course or direct me to a course that teaches steps into getting a custom white balance for sports indoors especially for combative sports, as most including Scott were not able to ” guess” the “correct” WB IN DEGREES KELVIN. Would using a tool such as an expo disk help out? Thanks!

There appears to be no way to modify my comment above, however I was referencing the wrong term. Rather than ISO I was talking about the white balance, they mentioned 5000 Kelvin when they originally stated 4550 Kelvin.

FIrst I want to say that this is a great course. I will probably have to rent a camera and lens to start out with if I want to get into this more as I only have a 70D and the price of the f2.8 lens is way outside of my budget at $11k.

In the video about camera settings Dave mentioned that his ISO was set to 4550 and that it wouldn’t change through the night. Later in the video about the second camera Scott asks Dave if his ISO is at 5500 and Dave confirms that it is 5500. Did the ISO settings change through the game or did you guys mis-state the ISO in one of the two references?

Great video, I learned a lot and after renting the course I’m not going to be a subscriber. I would love to see other sports covered, Basketball, Volleyball, Wrestling (with someone like Tony Rotundo, John Sachs, or Larry Slater), etc. I’m definitely going to have to watch this one again. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great course, I photograph rugby which is a little similar but we get the bonus of seeing faces and expressions. I will keep in mind some of the things I have learnt as our team is in the season finals tomorrow. I love hearing about what settings people use, as that is normally the most important thing, I don’t have a top of the range camera so it is good to hear about other options when you cannot go up to ISO 5000. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I have been shooting HS football for 4 years now and still got a lot out of this class.

Two things that are real problems that I would like to ask Dave and Scott.

1 – How best to set white balance when the stadium lighting does not have a consistent color? Shooting on high speed continuous gives me 5 photos each with different color casts.

2 – I find that a lot of HS football fields (and basketball) have VERY inconsistent lighting. Especially dark are the end zones. Shooting from the end zone usually ends up with players faces in shadow as the lights are positioned at the 25 yard lines. That’s why I usually cannot shoot on manual as the amount of light varies so much.

Very nice course, I would really like to see one or two un-retouched photos in the high ISO ranges like 5000 ISO, just to see what is capable/possible and to compare my high ISO photos which is not so great at the moment

I’ve been doing High Schools Sports for a local paper since the fall of 2008, and everything you said in the course was what I have experienced. I started; believe it or not, with a Kodak Z1012. I also covered three local colleges and Ohio State – Michigan game with it. No the shots were not great but I learned a lot about timing and patience. The z1012 had a three shot burst, so if you didn’t get it in there then you didn’t get the shot. I now cover all of Stark County and go to many different stadiums with different lighting. I was glad to hear you include the shooters that don’t have deep pockets. I used a Tamron 70-200 for over 3 seasons and now I have Canon L 70-200 IS, waht a difference I shoot with a Canon 40D with a high of 3200 ISO at time to noisy so I have to use a flash with an torpedo extender on it. What do you think about using a flash for sports? Thank you for the course, I took advantage of your trial offer and watched other videos as well a lot of good infromation. I’ve have pretty much taught myself through trial and error (long process with a lot of mistakes) but i love it. I have also received a lot of assistance from other pros in the area. Thank you again and keep the courses coming. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I just watched this for the third time. I am using the tips for both highschool and college shooting. I would love it if the guys did a live critique of football/sports photography on the Grid. Also would love to here about post processing of the game shots. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I’d love to see more final pics from this course… what Scott took, what Dave took. I shoot a lot of HS football and I’d love to see what you two professionals came away with. Thanks! —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great Class. still watching it but I wish you added a sectioin on changing light conditions When I shoot up here in Mi. earl season games start in daylight and change to stadium light. Also on my home pitch there is almost a stopand half difference between the center of the field and the end zones. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Dave and Scott awesome job,you taught me so much from your video course on football, will you be creating a learning video on College or High School Womens & Mens soccer anytime soon? —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great learning video. Will be doing High School footbal soon and will use the knowledge of Mr. Black with my 70-200mm 2.8 lens untill I can afford a 400mm 2.8 lens. Need to see both basketball and volleyball instructional viseos. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!! I ask for this tut over a year ago, and I don’t know if my comment had anything to do with filming this tut or not……but Thank you!!! I do have one comment though…… I like Dave’s idea of shooting WB set to Kelvin, BUT…….for me it wont work. I don’t know what kind of lights you were under, but ALL of the lights I shoot under cycle, and therefore you cannot pick a specific WB. AUTO is the only thing that works for me, and I just have to fix it in post. Thanks again for this tutorial. I’ve shoot high school sports for over a year now for the local paper, but I still learned A LOT……Thanks Scott and Dave!!!!! Richard —- Yes, please post my feedback

Dave Black’s enthusiasm is contagious! While I don’t follow football nor shoot sports, I truly enjoyed this tutorial (as I have so many on Kelby Training). Dave is simply an awesome photographer and instructor. He is also a riot and adds an element of humor to the game of photography. Hockey? Scott and Dave? Game On! —- Yes, please post my feedback

I have actually sold a lot of high school kicker photos but definitely not any of college kickers, unless it is the winning score. Great course. Despite shooting a lot of high school and college football I was able to glean several good tips and Dave reenforces some things that I know but sometimes get sloppy and forget (i.e., follow the celebrations and emotions after scores). —- Yes, please post my feedback

Well done. Probably more meaniful to me since I shoot football with Nikon D3S and now a D4 in the family. Liked the suggestion of turning the 400 camera around and swinging it out from the monopod and picking up the second camera with one hand for the closer photos. Curious what you did with the 400 camera when shooting with the flash and second camera, Security of my equipment is a concern. All in all I enjoyed this lesson a lot! —- Yes, please post my feedback

This was a great class. Enjoyed it from beginning to end even though I have problems with video artifacts. Can’t wait for Dave Black’s 3rd Painting with Light class. Love his easy going style. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Awesome course. I’ve only been shooting football for 1 season; I found the information conveyed to be extremely useful. My hit rate & my overall shot quality should improve for the upcoming season. Thanks to Dave for sharing the “how to’s” he’s learned over the last 30+ years; thanks to Scott for asking so many questions that got Dave to elaborate on his techniques. And the added bonus, I answered several of the trivia questions. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I really enjoyed this course and appreciate Kelby Training paying attention to suggestions. I had requested a class like this a while back. I would love to see one on high school basketball. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Love the format and banter between Dave and Scott. The photography style was great to see in action. A totally useful seminar. More in the heat of the moment realism would be good to see. Thanks for all you do.

My only concern was the lack of using a White Balance Preset in the camera which both Nikons have the option of doing. Even a X-Rite or similar target under the stadium lights could have worked well. Both Scott and Dave commented about getting “close” with the White Balance. As a school sports director I would like the color of our uniforms to be as close as possible. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great class, this is just what I need. Only suggestion would be to provide more focus on shooting with cropped sensor, non-pro camera. I have a Canon 60D and 7D. Would like to learn more about dealing with high ISO noise when shooting these kinds of events. —- Yes, please post my feedback

TREMENDOUS! Scott – thanks for putting this together. And Dave is the best. I had a chance to work with him in Colorado Springs. Its not only his deep experience, but his enthusiasm for what he is doing that makes it so very enjoyable to watch. The relationship between Scott and Dave came across loud and clear in the clips – great back and forth.

I agree with what others have said. I want to see Scott and Dave do a lot more sports photography episodes. Basketball, soccer, volleyball, hockey, LaCrosse – there are so many that I would like to see! —- Yes, please post my feedback

The course helped me clarify some the of the appropriate camera settings. Some people emphasize the use of flash during action shots at high school football games as a way to capture good color and focu. It would have been helpful to comment whether flash is an intrusion into the game or not. Similar videos for other sports would be helpful. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great session, definitely one of the best sessions on Kelby training. The only thing I think you missed, what makes a good shot from a composition point of view. I have my own ideas, but I’d like to hear what the two of you think. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I loved the parts where Dave Black was shooting solo and just giving his comments on what he was doing. The back and forth with Scott was distracting and seemed to slow down the flow of information. I want to know what it’s like to shoot a game. Break the series into two parts. Show Dave Black shooting the game with ONLY Dave and as a part 2 have Scott interview Dave AWAY from the shoot and ask detailed all well constructed questions about what Dave did. THAT would add significant value. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Thanks to Dave & Scott, allot of content that I can relate to…..look forward to more from Dave’s sports photography outings. Question to Dave, I might of missed the settings you used when you were sidelining using a flash. What where your settings? —- Yes, please post my feedback

Great course! I do have a question about white balance…when you shoot a high speed burst, do you find the color changing on every frame due to the lights on the stadium poles cycling up and down at 60 or 120 Hz? This has been a problem with my high school shooting experience, and I’m just wondering how you deal with that most effectively?

This was really a great lesson. Dave Black is just fantastic and very complete offering in this lesson.

One main component was left out though that I wish he could have touched on and that is simply a little on the business end of shooting sports. With two backpacks full of over $30,000 in gear, what can a photographer charge and expect to get paid for this type of work. I wouldn’t think much at the high school level. —- Yes, please post my feedback —- Yes, please post my feedback

I am new to sports photography, lucky to connect with a local semi-pro team where I can walk the sidelines. The information in this course will be a great help when I go back next season. —- Yes, please post my feedback

That was fun and very educational, couldn’t have come at a better time as we start to get excited for football season. I would love to see other HS sports venues as well. I do have a question about the second camera settings as the shots seemed to have more depth of field and was wondering if they were shot at 2.8? and is the focus priority the same when you use your camera “off your eye”, held up above your head? —- Yes, please post my feedback

I really enjoyed this training, however I would love to see more of the photos that were made during the video. In fact, it would be really great if you guys posted a gallery of photos associated with this training so that we could really study them to see the composition, focus, timing, etc. —- Yes, please post my feedback

FANTASTIC. Over the shoulder of Dave Black is that what i wanted. Nice guy, top video-crew. And donīt forget the interviewer, Mr. Scott Kelby himself. Great job. Please more from Dave Black, soccer, hockey, whatever comes his way, i want to join him on the field. Amazing course. Thanks from germany. —- Yes, please post my feedback

I just want to thank Scott and Dave for a fantastic job!!!! I’m not a sports shooter but it gave so much insight into it and great tips! I love the fact it was a high school game. If I was ever going to shoot any sports, it would be local stuff with local kids (even little league baseball, etc.). So many great thoughts you shared that I had never even thought about. It’s always so good to get out of our niche and stretch some. Thanks again! As Dave said…..I’ll be going back and watching parts of this again and again. Kelby Training is sooooooo great!!! I’ve learned so much over the last few years watching all these folks that are so good at what they do. It’s not just the trainers either. My hats off to all the production folks, camera folks, and behind the scene folks that make Kelby Training the most professionally done photography and photoshop training I’ve seen anywhere!!!! Thanks to all of you and keep it coming!!!! You have a fan here!!! —- Yes, please post my feedback

Another awesome course! I love these “Day with” type of courses. Not saying that the rest are bad, just that it is a very interesting style. Thank you, guys! I learned a lot! P. S. I thought I heard Mr. Kelby say it was the Cougars that won. My high school alma matter is the Niwot Cougars from Niwot, CO. Different schools, but a Cougar is a Cougar, so go Cougars! —- Yes, please post my feedback

This was a geat course, a lot of information. You both are great teachers. My only complaint was lack of photos. I would have loved to see a great deal more. I was expecting to see a bunch at the end of the lesson. All in all I enjoyed the course thanks. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Wow! This is one incredible video. As informative and down to earth as any of the classes I’ve viewed. Dave and Scott, you’re the greatest. Thanks for putting this video on. I can’t wait for the next one. —- Yes, please post my feedback

Wow that was an amazing class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would love to see a series of other high school sports. The reason to see high school is they usually do not have the most fantastic lighting or backgrounds or room to shoot. Also this is a staple among a lot of photographers. —- Yes, please post my feedback